


Spawn of Cipher

by LeelaSmall



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Demon/Human Relationships, Demonic Possession, F/M, Giving birth to a demon spawn, Unplanned Pregnancy, Which Dipper delivers, demon spawn, discorporation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 10:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeelaSmall/pseuds/LeelaSmall
Summary: To spend a night together was perfectly natural. They were a couple, after all. Who knew it would lead to so much pain and suffering… (Sequel to Catching a Shooting Star) [Original publish date: December 1, 2015]





	1. Gettin' Busy

_'_ _What about formalwear? No, too predictable. A fitness theme? No, too eighties. Urgh, I don't know…'_

She patted the rear end of her pencil onto the blank page in front of her, desperately trying to find an inspiration. Usually, she was chock-full of ideas, but it seemed like today was different. Today, Mabel Pines was having a serious case of art block.

She dropped her pencil and slammed her head against the table, groaning loudly in exasperation. Why was she doing this now? It was a Friday afternoon and she was all done with classes for the day. She wanted to start enjoying her weekend, but her partner wanted to get an early start on their Creative Design project. Why did she have to say yes to that? She had had an exhausting week and she just wanted to go back to her room, lock herself in there and sleep till Monday. Why did she ever agree to spend the rest of her Friday working in the library?

"Looks someone could really use a nice hot cup of Loco Cocoa."

She sluggishly lifted her head just enough to see the person in front of her, who smiled widely at her as he handed her a large cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and a toasted marshmallow on top. He was a boy her age with bleached hair, short and styled into a Pompadour, wearing a black turtleneck with an open teal vest that matched his teal-rimmed glasses and a pair of white jeans.

Mabel gave him a small smile as she sat up straight, now remembering why she had agreed to his idea in the first place. He had been her closest friend and confident since she started her classes at the end of summer. They had a lot of things in common and shared the same ideals about fashion. He also had a unique style when it came to clothes, and, as Mabel had a bunch of different sweaters for each occasion, he had a different pair of glasses for each day, all with different colors and none of them even remotely alike. He was one of the sweetest guys she had ever met, and Mabel felt like she could tell him anything. He would always have her back.

"You know me too well, Raphi." She sighed as she accepted the hot drink from her project partner, feeling it instantly warming up her hands.

"That I do, miss Pines." He said as he took a seat next to her, holding his own drink in his left hand. "I have to admit, it was hard to order that calorie bomb without getting one for myself, but I was able to resist and just got a cup of vanilla tea. I have to watch my figure, after all."

"What figure? You're skinny as a stick! If anything, you could really use some meat on those bones."

"Bite your tongue!" he exclaimed, making her giggle from looking so outraged. "So, have you figured what we should make for our Creative Design project?"

"Nope, I'm stumped." She sighed as she took the marshmallow from her drink and threw it into her mouth. "I don't know what's wrong with me today, I'm usually so inspired."

"I know what's wrong. Someone's been working too hard all week and now she's burned out." Raphi stated as he stirred his tea. "I think you should take a break this weekend. Relax, have some fun or something."

"Well, I was planning on calling Dipper and asking if he wanted to hang out."

"Yeah, you do that." He set the stirrer down and inched closer to the brunette, grinning deviously at her. "By the way, how is that cute twin brother of yours?"

"Still straight and taken, I'm afraid." She chuckled, licking the whipped cream from the edges of her cup.

"Oh, poo. Why are all the good ones taken?" he slumped on his chair and crossed his arms over his chest with a pout. "What's that Serenity Southeast got that I don't, anyway?"

"Her name's Pacifica Northwest, and I don't think it's about what you don't have, but rather about what you _do_ have, if you know what I mean."

"Whatever, it's his loss." He scoffed as he picked up his drink and blew on it. "Speaking of boyfriends and such, when are you going to finally introduce me to yours? You're always going on about how great and handsome he is. I'm dying to meet him!"

"That's a bit more complicated." She replied, gripping the paper cup firmly in her hands as she tried to come up with a plausible excuse. "He's… not from around here."

"You mean he's foreign?" he gasped. "How exotic! Now I really have to meet him!"

"Well, he's not here right now, so that won't be possible."

"In that case, you better warn me as soon as he comes to visit." He slowly sipped his tea, releasing a satisfied sigh afterwards. "Honestly, you talk about the guy so much it's like I've known him all my life. You've told me his name, where and how you've met and described how he looks in detail. I have to admit, you make him sound like the hottest guy on the planet."

"He kind of his, but I wouldn't stroke his ego that much if I were you. It'll go straight to his head."

"Well, it's not like he can hear me, right?"

"I wouldn't be so sure…" she muttered under her breath, unable to repress a loud yawn.

"You look exhausted. Tell you what, why don't I start the project and show you my ideas tomorrow?" he suggested as he pulled the blank page she had been trying to use towards him. "I can tell you could really use some rest."

"You sure you don't mind?" she asked, sleepily rubbing her right eye.

"Positive. Besides, I need all the practice I can get if I ever want the name Raphi Sullivan to make it as a famous line of clothing." He stated, sweeping his arm in the air as he said his name.

"If you say so." Mabel giggled as she stood up, throwing her backpack over her shoulder and picking up her drink. "Thanks, Raphi."

"Not a problem. But you better make it up to me, you hear?"

"I will, I promise!"

She waved goodbye to her friend and exited the library, sipping her hot cocoa as she walked through the school. The hallways were teeming with other students, chatting away and clearly excited about the weekend. She was able to overhear some of them planning parties for that night. Normally she would've gone where they were going without even thinking twice, but today she actually felt too tired to party. She must've been more worn-out than she thought.

She pushed passed the door of the main building and found herself on the campus grounds. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the crisp autumn breeze around her. The air was getting colder by the day and the trees were almost completely bare. It was her first fall in college and she thought the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

Feeling the leaves crunching beneath her feet as she walked, she made her way towards the dormitory. As soon as she entered the building she saw a bunch of other girls gathered around discussing another party. She quickly zipped through them before they had a chance to invite her and fished around her backpack for her keys. Finally she reached her room, the last one on the bottom floor. She swiftly unlocked the door and swung it open, rapidly stepping inside and locking herself in.

After throwing her backpack into a corner, she jumped onto her bed and sighed deeply as her muscles relaxed against her soft comforter. She could feel all the stress and anxiety she had built up just melting away as she closed her eyes and started to doze off.

"Rough week, uh?"

Her eyes immediately snapped open to find herself staring into her boyfriend's upside down face. Apparently he was standing on the ceiling, his hands in his pockets and a sly grin on his face.

"You have no idea." Mabel sighed, smiling up at the blond.

"Oh, but I do!" he did a flip and landed on the floor next to her bed. "I've been watching you all this time. Even when you were talking to your friend earlier."

"You… were?"

"Do you really think I'm the hottest guy on the planet?" he pressed his right hand against his cheek and batted his eyelashes in a cutesy way.

"Of course I do!" she replied as she propped herself up on her elbows. "You know I do! I tell you that every time."

"You're too sweet." He commented as he lied down next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yup, that's my middle name. Mabel Sweet Pines."

"And apparently 'cheesy', too."

"You know you love my cheesiness." She said, poking his nose. "And I know it too!"

"Guilty as charged." He purred, gently pressing his forehead against hers. "I can't help that you're irresistible."

"Well, you're not so bad yourself, mister."

He took hold of her chin with his thumb and forefinger and pulled her head up, pressing her lips against his. Mabel kissed back and threw her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Bill pulled one arm up to snap his fingers, a record player appearing on Mabel's desk and dropping its needle onto the record. Mabel instantly opened her eyes when she realized Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On' started playing in the background.

"What is that?" she asked confusedly after pulling away.

"Just a little mood music." He replied as he ran his fingers up her arm.

"Are you planning something?" Mabel raised a brow at the demon, unable to keep herself from smiling at his naughty ways.

"Maaaayyybe…" he smirked and inched closer, touching her nose with his.

"Show me." She whispered in a rather sultry tone.

Bill's grin widened. He was amazed how sexy the otherwise innocent girl could be. She must've been learning from him during the four months they had been dating.

He smashed his lips against the brunette's once more and slid his hands under her pale-blue sweater, running them up her back. Mabel eagerly kissed back as she tangled her fingers in his blond locks. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, massaging her own tongue with his. Mabel moaned against his lips, her cheeks starting to flush as Bill slowly started to pull up the hem of her sweater.

It didn't take too long until their clothes were scattered around the floor. The two lovers had pulled the covers over themselves, Bill on top of Mabel as he continued to kiss her passionately. He pulled away and panted as he looked at her with a wide smile across his face. She looked away embarrassedly, her cheeks beat red. Bill bit his lip, his heart skipping a beat with how adorably beautiful she looked. The naked demon closed his eyes and slowly leaned down to kiss her again as his thumbs hooked the hem of her underpants, the only article of clothing left on her, when suddenly…

_Nice to meet you!_

_My name is Dipper Pines_

_P-P-Pines, Pines, Pines…_

_Nice to meet you!_

_P-P-Pines, Pines, Pines…_

They opened their eyes at the same time and glanced at Mabel's nightstand, where her phone was vibrating and playing the song that had ruined the mood, a picture of Dipper on the screen. Bill gritted his teeth and gripped the sheets angrily, his eye twitching slightly.

"Friggin'… DAMMIT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

He reached for the brunette's pink bedazzled smartphone and slid his finger across the screen to answer the call, clearing his throat to calm himself before taking the device up to his ear.

"Shooting Star can't come to the phone right now…" he spoke calmly, pulling the phone in front of his face as his angry expression returned. "…because she's about to be DEFLOWERED!"

He tossed the phone towards the opposite end of the room without even bothering to end the call and huffed in irritation.

"Bill! That was Dipper!" Mabel complained, eyeing her phone across the room. "I can't believe you just told him that! What's he going to think? He might – "

The blond interrupted her by quickly pressing his lips to hers, to which she quickly subdued as he yanked away her underwear.

Meanwhile Dipper was still trying to process what he had just heard. He sat at his desk in his room at West Coast Tech, staring confusedly at his phone. He hadn't hung up yet in hopes that Mabel would pick up and explain what had just happened and what Bill was talking about, but all he heard was rustling and what sounded like panting coming from the other side.

"I've been wanting to get my hands on you for a long time." He heard Bill say.

That's when it hit him. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he finally understood what the demon had meant.

Oh no.

"Especially on these lovely 'tracts of land' you've got here."

"Oh, stop it, you…" Dipper heard his sister giggle, his face involuntarily flushing deeply.

"So nice and soft…"

"Hey, we're you going?"

"Downstairs. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't, but – WHOA!"

"Hmm, you like that?"

"Holy crap, YES!"

At this point Dipper dropped his phone and backed away, like it had some sort of contagious disease. He kept glaring at it in disbelief as pants and moans enacted from the other end.

"Can I maybe… try something on you?"

Dipper's eyes widened so much he felt they would pop out of his head any moment. Was that really Mabel talking? His sweet happy-go-lucky twin sister?

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"Just lie down."

"OK, now what?"

"Close your eyes. I mean, eye."

"'K, it's closed. What exactly are you planning to do–OOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"I thought you'd enjoy that."

"Jiminy Crickets, that feels GOOD!"

"Mmm… you taste better than Smile Dip."

"You keep talking like that and I'll explode!"

"I'm pretty sure that's what I'm aiming for."

"OK, stop. It's time for the main course."

The sound of someone being toppled over and pushed against the mattress could be heard from the other side, and Dipper finally realized what was doing. Why was he still listening to that?!

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The next thing the brunet heard was the demon grunting and Mabel muffling a scream.

"You OK?"

"Yeah… just give me a minute."

"Anything for you, dearest."

He heard Mabel pant a few times and sniffle. Still frozen in shock, Dipper tried with all his might to force his body to move and end that blasted call.

"OK, I think I'm good."

"Shall we begin, then?"

"Yes, please."

After that all he heard was a series of grunts and moans from both Bill and Mabel, which seemed to increase in frequency by the second.

That was the last straw. Dipper launched himself in the direction of his phone in an attempt to grab hold of it and end the call, but his hands were shaking so much he couldn't get a grip on the device. It was like it was covered in butter.

"B-Bill… Bill, I'm close!"

"Me… me too!"

Dipper finally managed to grab his phone as their moaning got louder.

"Mm… Mm… Mm…."

"Ah… AH… AAAH BIIIIILL!"

"Mmmm... MAAABEEEEL!"

The brunet lifted himself and tried desperately to hit the 'End Call' button, but the nerves were clearly affecting his aim. He hit the screen several times as he heard the couple on the other end panting in exhaustion.

"Oh, Bill… You said my name…"

"I… I guess I did…"

"That was amazing… Can we do it more often?"

"You bet we can!"

Dipper finally ended the call and released a deep sigh, sitting back at his desk. Although that was over, he couldn't help but feel that a small part of him had died. He knew that Mabel and Bill had to consummate their relationship sooner or later, but he sure as HELL never wanted to hear it!

He placed his phone on his desk and dropped his head onto its wooden surface. He was never going to get those sounds out of his head. And he was sure he wouldn't be able to fall asleep tonight.


	2. One Week Later

"I've gotta hand it to us, these are looking pretty great."

Mabel and Raphi stepped back to appreciate their work. Her partner had drawn up a couple of pretty good-looking outfits and they set to work on sewing them as soon as they got the approval to do so. They weren't finished yet, but most of the hard work was done.

Raphi had decided to go for a space theme, since he knew that was something everyone would like, and was able to design some elegant dresses that almost looked like astronaut outfits and some suits that resembled robots from some Science Fiction movies and TV shows.

"I honestly think this is my best work ever." Raphi commented as he eyed his creations from top to bottom. "Oh, sorry! Our best work ever."

"Hey, the credit's all yours! You drew them." Mabel corrected him. "But I do agree that they look awesome."

"Well, we still have a lot to do before we reach perfection. I really want to blow the competition away."

"You mean the rest of the class?"

"They're still technically the competition." He insisted as he adjusted one of the dresses on its mannequin. "We are competing for the best grade."

"You got me there." She giggled.

"Alright, let's finish these off so we can turn them in. Mabel, could you please get the headpieces? They're in that box over there." He said as he pointed at a cardboard box on the other end of the room.

Mabel gave a nod and walked over to the aforementioned object, kneeling down to grab hold of the box. She had just gotten back up when she felt a sharp pain in her abdominal area, which made her to drop the box, its contents falling out and rolling across the floor.

Raphi quickly took his attention off the dress he was mending when he heard a noise, and turned around to see Mabel double over and hug herself as she fell to her knees.

"Mabel?!" he gasped worriedly, running up to her and dropping down onto the floor next to her. "Mabel, what's wrong?"

"I don't know." She whimpered, tears starting to run down her cheeks. "My stomach really hurts! It's – "

She didn't have time to finish her sentence. All she had time to do was grab the now empty cardboard box from the floor and vomit into it. She coughed a few times before retching again, this time a lot more violently.

"Oh, God…" Raphi said as he held back her hair. "This is not good. I think you need to see a doctor."

"N-no, it's fine." Mabel panted and turned around to face her friend, forcing herself to smile at him. "I think I'm OK. The pain is gone. It was probably just something I ate."

"Mabel… your nose is bleeding."

Her eyes widened as she wiped her upper lip with her hand, gasping silently as she saw the red substance on her fingers. She felt another sharp pain, this time in her head, and her vision started to fade.

"Call… an ambulance…" she muttered right before losing consciousness and collapsing on the floor.

"I'm just glad you called me when you did. This has never happened to her before."

"I didn't want to worry you, but you had to know. You are her brother, after all."

"The worst part is I kind of sensed this it coming. Somehow I woke up this morning and knew something bad was going to happen."

She slowly opened her eyes, her vision still blurry. She tried to adjust it to bright light above her, unable to make out the two silhouettes standing next to her.

"Look, she's waking up!"

"Oh my God, Mabel!"

She recognized those two different voices just as her vision became clear. She saw Raphi and Dipper by her side, the latter squeezing her hand with a worried look on his face. She also realized she was in a hospital bed.

"Dipper?" she asked weakly, her throat feeling sore and dry. "Where am I? What happened?"

"Raphi called me. He told me you threw up and then passed out. I got here as soon as I could."

"How did I get here?"

"I called an ambulance before calling your brother." Raphi stated as he sat at the foot of her bed. "I was so worried…"

"The doctor ran some tests while you were asleep. He should be back soon with the results." Dipper declared, placing a hand on Mabel's forehead to check her temperature. "Do you remember doing or eating anything that could do this to you?"

"Not really." She replied, feeling a bit lightheaded. Then a thought crossed her mind. "Unless…"

"Ah, Miss Pines."

The three young adults turned their heads to the door to see the doctor walk in with a clipboard in his hands. He was tired-looking middle-aged man, and his expression was a hard one to interpret.

"I'm glad you're finally awake." He said as he stopped next to the bed. "I need to have word with you. Could you two boys step out for a bit, please?"

"Sure." Dipper and Raphi spoke in unison as they walked out of the room, the latter closing the door behind them.

"You have a really caring brother." The doctor commented, giving the brunette an encouraging smile. "He nearly ran me over when he got here and demanded to see you. I'm almost sure he would've killed me if I hadn't allowed him to come in."

"Yup, that's Dipper, alright." Mabel chuckled feebly. "So what's wrong with me, doc? Is it serious?"

"In a way, yes." He flipped through the papers on his clipboard until he found the one he wanted. "I took a blood sample for analysis and had you take a sonogram to see if there was any internal damage that could cause the abdominal pain that your friend told me about, but I couldn't find any. Besides your blood test proving that you are slightly anemic, I can't really explain what happened. I'd say those symptoms manifested themselves due to your current situation, but other than the vomiting, they aren't really normal."

"Wait… my current situation? What situation?" Mabel asked confusedly.

The doctor was silent, staring at the girl like almost like he had seen a ghost.

"You mean you didn't know?" he almost gasped in disbelief.

"Didn't know what?" she insisted, raising her voice as she started to feel herself panic.

"Miss Pines… you're pregnant."

Mabel could feel the color drain from her face and her heart almost stop beating. She was… pregnant?! How could she be pregnant?! It wasn't possible! She hadn't…

Then she thought back to what happened one week ago, when she and Bill had… Oh.

"I take it this wasn't planned?" the doctor asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I guess you could say that…" she giggled halfheartedly, nervously gripping the sheets covering her.

"Don't worry, most pregnancies are. The parents are reluctant, even shocked at first, but I assure you they learn to love their child in the end. After all, what greater joy is there than to be a parent?"

Mabel allowed herself to smile at that statement, her initial distress replaced with a small amount of joy. Her hand made its way to rest upon her stomach, almost feeling a small bump there. Her smile widened. The thought of having a baby growing inside her was… unexpected, of course, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat happy about it.

"Paging Dr. Roberts! Dr. Roberts to the ER!" a voice was heard calling through the intercom.

"Looks like I'm needed elsewhere." The doctor said as he stood up. "You should be discharged in a few hours. Rest up in the next day or so and take it easy from now on. And maybe schedule an obstetric appointment when you feel up for it."

Mabel gave a nod and grinned at the middle-aged man as he exited the room. It seemed like she couldn't stop herself from smiling. She was going to be a mother, and she couldn't wait to tell Bill about it.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the aforementioned dream demon materialized himself right in front of her, a stern look on his face.

"Bill! I'm glad you're here!" Mabel exclaimed as she sat up. "I have great news! I'm – "

"I already know. I heard everything." He stated, crossing his arms against his chest. "And trust me, those aren't good news."

Mabel's smiled died and her heart sank, trying to process if what she had just heard was correct.

"What… w-what do you mean?" she stammered, her hands shaking over her abdomen.

"I mean this is a problem! You can't be pregnant! We need to fix this, and now!"

"Fix this this. How do you…" she gasped, protectively hugging herself on instinct. "You're not suggesting…?"

"You know damn well what I'm suggesting." He retorted angrily.

"Bill, I'm not going to abort this baby!" she almost screamed, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "I want to have it! I want to feel it growing inside me, to hold it in my arms when it's born, to raise it just like my mother raised me. And I want to do it with you. This is your baby too, after all."

"You don't understand. You can't have this baby!"

"Yes, I can! And I will! And there's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

Bill released an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mabel gulped down the lump forming in her throat as she waited for the demon to react, hopefully in a good way.

"I knew this would happen…" he muttered under his breath, raising his gaze to meet hers. "Fine. If you want to keep it, that's your problem. Don't count on me to help you with it." he snapped his fingers and a blue portal appeared behind him. "Goodbye."

"No, Bill, wait!" Mabel shouted, extending her hand in the demon's direction.

Bill gave the brunette one last glance before entering the portal, which disappeared as soon as he did.

"Bill, please, NO!" Mabel cried desperately, the tears now running at full force. "BIIIIILL!"

"Mabel?!" Dipper exclaimed as he and Raphi burst in the room, both of them looking utterly concerned. "Mabel, what's wrong? We could hear you screaming from outside the room!"

Mabel didn't reply; she simply buried her face in her hands and continued to sob violently.

Dipper made his way towards the bed and took a seat next to his sister, pulling her into a hug. Mabel pressed her face against his chest as she continued to cry, gripping the brunet's shirt tightly. Dipper looked up at Raphi, who seemed on the verge of tears as well. They shared a worried look, both of them wondering what gotten the otherwise happy girl so upset.


	3. Breathless (Month 1)

Dipper tapped his foot on the floor nervously as he sat on his desk, trying to study for his upcoming Parapsychology exam, but wasn't able to concentrate as much as he tried. He wanted to study, he really did, but whenever he started reading the texts on his book his mind would immediately wander to other thoughts.

He sighed in defeat and closed his book, folding his arms over his desk and resting his head on them. For the last few weeks his mind had been focused on one thing and one thing alone: his sister. After finding out Mabel was pregnant with Bill's child and that the demon had abandoned her as soon as he found out, he couldn't stop worrying about her. He still couldn't believe would do something like that. He knew he shouldn't be so surprised, but he really thought the demon had changed. Apparently not.

Mabel had been so devastated with that dramatic turn of events… Every time he talked to her since then she looked utterly miserable. She tried to hide it, but he knew her too well. She also looked weaker and paler by the day. At first he was worried she wasn't eating properly due to her depression, but she assured him otherwise. He was beginning to think that had something to do with the baby she was now carrying. She was a growing a demon baby inside her, and he wondered to what extent that could affect her. He needed to know for sure…

He lifted his head as an idea crossed his mind. There was only one man he knew that might have the knowledge to answer all his questions about Mabel's baby: his great-uncle Ford. He would know what to do in a situation like this for sure.

The brunet grimaced slightly, remembering the last time he had talked to Stan's twin. It hadn't ended in the best terms. After seeing the sweater Bill had made for Mabel, they had to explain everything to the old man. Needless to say that didn't go very well…

_"_ _YOU'RE DATING BILL?!" Ford shouted at the top of his lungs after the twins explained everything to him._

_"_ _I-it's not what you think!" Mabel stuttered, holding her hands in front of herself in a protective way. "Well, actually it's exactly what you think."_

_"_ _Are you out of your MIND?! Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?!"_

_"_ _It's not as bad as you think! He's proven to have changed in the two months we've been hiding him in the a– "_

_Mabel quickly covered her mouth with her hands when she realized what she had said. Dipper simply slapped his forehead, watching their great-uncle's face redden in anger._

_"_ _You did WHAT?!"_

_"_ _I think you're just making it worse." Dipper whispered to his sister before taking a step forward. "I know this sounds bad, and believe me, I didn't like it either when it happened, but after all he did to prove himself, I honestly believe that Bill has changed for the better."_

_"_ _How can you be so sure?" Ford asked, crossing his arms against his chest. "Do I need to remind you that Bill is the master of deception?"_

_"_ _He could've just used Mabel for his own selfish purposes and leave, but instead he hasn't left her side since we rescued him from certain doom."_

_"_ _And he told me he loves me!" Mabel added. "The old Bill would never even consider saying something like that."_

_"_ _That is true…" Ford pondered as he rubbed his chin. "But I still don't feel comfortable with all this. After all Bill has done to us, I can't allow myself to trust him so easily. And neither should you, Mabel."_

_"_ _But Grunkle Ford – "_

_"_ _No buts! Bill is still a demon, and I don't believe his evil tendencies are gone. If you want to risk your life by having a relationship with him, that's your problem. Just don't come crying to me when he betrays you."_

Dipper ran his fingers through his hair as he considered his options. He had no other choice than talk to Ford about what was going on. Mabel's life could be in danger, and he had to know what he could do to prevent that.

He pushed his Parapsychology book away and turned on his laptop, tapping his fingers against his desk as he waited for the device to come to life. He quickly drew his cursor to the Skype icon on the screen and clicked on it twice, scrolling down through his contact list as soon as the window opened. There was only one way he could contact Ford, and that was through the one person closest to him that had a Skype account. The one who called himself 'Paladin Radmaster'.

Soon he found the contact and clicked on it, stifling a laugh as he saw his new profile picture. Apparently he had drawn a smiley face on his wife's pregnant belly and taken a picture next to it. It was rather large, so Dipper figured she should be almost at the end of her pregnancy. His thoughts went back to Mabel, who was going through the exact same thing.

He thought about leaving a message telling him to give him a call as soon as he could, but was surprised to see he was online. He figured he must have the Skype app on his phone, which was great because he wanted to take care of business as soon as possible. He moved his cursor and clicked on the green 'Video Call' button. He sat back and adjusted his webcam as he waited for him to answer the call, almost jumping out of his chair when he saw his chubby face appear on the screen not two seconds after.

"Dipper, dude!"

"Hey, Soos!" Dipper greeted his friend with a bright smile. "How's it going?"

"It's all cool. My shift is almost over!" he chuckled.

"That's nice." Dipper laughed at his silliness. "How are Melody and the baby?"

"They're alright. She's seven months along. Wanna see some pictures of Ash?" he said as he pulled out an ultrasound photo from his pocket.

"Soos, why are you talking to your phone like that?" Stan was heard in the distance.

"I'm talking to Dipper on Skype, Mr. Pines."

"Skype? What is that? Sounds like something anti-Semitic."

Soos turned his phone to the left to allow Stan to see his great-nephew on the screen. The old man beamed at the sight of the brunet.

"Oh hey, kid! Great to see ya!" he exclaimed as he walked closer and squinted. "Barely. Soos, your phone is tiny."

"Nice to see you too, Grunkle Stan." Dipper rolled his eyes with an amused smirk. "Is Ford there? I need to speak to him."

"Aw come on, we just started talking and you already want to get rid of me?" Stan complained and crossed his arms. "Kids today…"

"It's not that…" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "I have a very delicate issue I need to discuss with him. And it's really important that I do so as soon as possible. So can I _please_ talk to him?"

"Fine…" Stan groaned. "Soos, give me that."

Dipper watched as his great-uncle yanked his employee's phone out of his hands and made his way towards the vending machine, where he inserted the usual code and entered as soon as it moved aside. He walked down the stairs towards the underground laboratory, where he could see Ford leaned over his desk writing something with a mug filled with coffee next to him.

"Hey Poindexter, you've got a call." Stan grumbled as he moved the phone in front of Ford's face. The old man almost jolted upwards when he saw Dipper's face so close to his.

"Oh Dipper, what a surprise." He chuckled as he grabbed hold of the phone. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

"Neither was I, but needed to talk to you about something." Dipper declared, looking up at Stan. "In private."

Ford looked back at his twin brother, who understood that as his cue to leave. He muttered something under his breath and turned around, proceeding to head back up the stairs. Ford shrugged and turned his attention back to his great-nephew.

"So what's the matter?" Ford asked, setting the phone down in an upright position on his desk so he could continue writing.

"Well, it's… it's Bill."

"I should've known. What's he done this time?" he reached for his mug and took a sip.

"Well… he's, hum…" Dipper took in a deep breath, getting ready to drop the bomb. "He got Mabel pregnant."

Ford immediately spat out his coffee onto the desk and coughed violently, having to punch himself in the chest to be able to breathe again.

"He… he WHAT?!" he wheezed, gripping his throat.

"I know, I was shocked about it too when I found out. I wanted to ask you if this could bring Mabel any serious repercussions."

"Dipper… you have no idea what your sister has gotten herself into!"

"Is it that bad?"

"Bad?! This is TERRIBLE!" Ford punched his desk, tipping over his coffee mug in the process. "Dipper, your sister is going to DIE!"

"WHAT?!" Dipper's shouted as he abruptly stood up, his heart almost stopping. "A-are you serious?"

"I've only seen this happen once. A few years ago I documented this woman who I had been told was carrying a demon child. She suffered the most excruciating symptoms all throughout her pregnancy and then died while giving birth. The pain was just too much for her to bear. I was able to exorcise the baby before it could bring any harm towards humanity, but it was the worst thing I have ever witnessed. And now…" he sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe my own niece is doomed to suffer the same faith."

"W-wait, there's gotta be something we can do to fix this!" Dipper stammered as he started to panic. "She's only a month along, so maybe we could – "

"You can't abort a demon spawn, Dipper. Literally. It's impossible to do."

"Then what _can_ we do?"

"You have to go to her and look after her until…" Ford trailed off, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his right hand. "Take care of her, Dipper. That's all you can do right now."

Dipper swallowed the lump forming in his throat and nodded, wiping away the tears forming in his eyes. He said goodbye to his great-uncle and ended the call, quickly grabbing his backpack and throwing in as much clothes and essentials as he could. He needed to get to Mabel as soon as possible.

* * *

"Are you sure you're up for this? I can always ask Miss Bisognin to give us a few more days."

"I told you, I'm fine."

Mabel wobbled forward, having to hold onto the wall next to her so as not to fall. Raphi quickly ran to her side and helped her regain her balance.

"You look terrible." He commented in a concerned tone. "You're awfully pale and you've got huge bags under your eyes. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"It's nothing." Mabel replied feebly, placing a hand on her forehead. "I just feel a bit week… but I can still help you present our creations to the rest of the class."

"Are you sure you can? I don't want you making too much effort."

"I'm sure." She assured him with a small smile.

"Alright…" Raphi sighed, giving her a reassuring grin as he squeezed her shoulders. "Let's do this."

Mabel nodded and watched as her partner dragged some covered up mannequins onto the stage, setting them up in front of their Creative Design professor and the rest of the class. Her smile dropped as soon as he was out of sight, her gaze falling upon her now slightly rounded stomach. Her hand made its way up to feel the bump as her mind replayed the events that had occurred just a few weeks ago. She never thought Bill could just abandon her like that as soon as he found out she was carrying his child. And after he told her he loved her…

She shook her head and sent those thoughts to the back of her mind. If he didn't want to be around, that was his problem. She was perfectly able to tend to herself and the baby. She took in a deep breath and put on her best smile as she made her way to the stage, where everyone was waiting for her.

"Ah, Miss Pines, thank you for joining us." Said the Creative Design professor, an elegant Italian woman in her late twenties. "Are you feeling alright? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Miss Bisognin." Mabel beamed at her. "I've just been feeling a bit weak lately."

"You should look into that." She looked down at the clipboard in her hands and readied her pen to start writing. "You can begin your presentation when ready."

"OK." She turned back to Raphi, who stood next to the mannequins awaiting orders. "Raphi, would you do the honors?"

"With pleasure!" he gripped the large sheet covering the mannequins and grinned down at his audience. "I give you… Sci-Fancy!"

He pulled away the sheet with one swift movement, revealing the outfits he and Mabel had worked on. Their classmates all awed in wonder, while Miss Bisognin simply observed them and took notes.

"Mabel?" Raphi edged his partner on.

"These outfits take the space theme that everyone loves and combines it with the elegance of fancy dressing, making a style that would be perfect for both casual and formal events." Mabel explained, gesturing towards the three outfits behind her. "The fabric is adaptable and consists solely on – "

She suddenly fell silent, her eyes widening and the color draining from her face. Raphi looked over at her worried while the rest of their classmates started murmuring to each other.

"Is something the matter, Miss Pines?" asked Miss Bisognin when she lifted her gaze from her clipboard and saw her student's expression.

"Mabel, what's wrong?" Raphi whispered to the brunette, who had taken her hands up to her neck.

She started wheezing desperately and dropped to her knees, her face slowly turning blue.

"I… can't… breathe!" she managed to say, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

"Oh lord! I'm calling an ambulance!" exclaimed Miss Bisognin as she quickly stood up and pulled out her cell phone.

"And I'm calling Dipper!" Raphi declared, taking out his own phone.

Suddenly the auditorium doors were kicked open, and everyone turned around in time to see Dipper run down the stairs towards the stage.

"That was fast." Raphi remarked confusedly.

"Mabel!" Dipper hopped onto the stage and grabbed his sister by the shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. "Mabel, can your hear me?"

Mabel looked into her brother's eyes with a pleading gaze, as if begging him to help her. She gasped for air a few more times before her eyes rolled back and she passed out, falling face-first onto her brother's chest. Dipper held the brunette against him and released a deep sigh when he felt her chest rising and falling normally.

"Her breathing his stable." He said as he scooped her into his arms and lifted himself up. "Let's get you back to your room."

"Shouldn't we take her to the ER?" Raphi inquired. "I would really like to know what's wrong with her. I'm getting really worried!"

"I'll explain everything on the way. Let's just get her out of here."


	4. Visions of the Future (Month 2)

After getting Mabel safely back to her room, Dipper explained everything Ford had said would happen to her in the following nine months, conveniently leaving out the final part. She had the right to know what she would be going through, but not even he could bring himself to telling his own sister that she would die whilst giving birth to a demon spawn. Mabel was terrified by the fact that she would be suffering for nine whole months, but what was more terrifying was not knowing how that would occur. The thought of being tortured without knowing what was going to happen to her or when was just horrible. Still, they were both surprised that nothing more had happened on the weeks that followed. Things were actually calm. A little too calm.

Dipper insisted on staying by Mabel's side since then. He had moved into her dorm room to tend to her every need and be there when something else happened. He explained himself to his professors and was assured there was no problem with that, being it a family matter and all, and was able to get notes from his classes emailed to him so he wouldn't fall behind. He also talked to Mabel's professors and told them she had fallen ill and couldn't attend her classes until she got better. Dipper didn't want anything to happen to his sister in public again.

Raphi visited regularly, bringing Mabel notes and keeping her company whenever her brother needed to head out. Dipper had explained his sister's situation to her friend, this time telling him the truth about everything that had happened and was going to happen. Raphi was shocked at first, even going to the point of thinking that was all just a cruel joke, but after the brunet told him about Bill and how he had terrorized their lives in that fateful summer five years ago, he was able to understand.

Mabel was now in her second month of pregnancy. She was suffering from severe morning sickness and intense cravings, but other than that, nothing too out of the ordinary had happened, which worried her brother. He couldn't help but feel like something big was about go down.

"Mabel, slow down! That's your third helping of Lo Mein!"

Mabel froze in the middle of slurping the noodles halfway into her mouth to look down at her lap, where there were two empty boxes of Chinese takeout plus the half empty one from which she was eating. Dipper had brought lunch and she must've distractedly eaten most of it.

"Sorry." She mumbled with her mouth full. "I'm just really hungry."

"I can see that." Dipper chuckled as he dipped his dumpling into his sauce bowl. "I just hope you don't get sick from all that food."

"Don't worry, I won't." She giggled after swallowing the food in mouth, setting down her chopsticks and slowly getting up from her bed.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, I just have to go to the bathroom."

She slipped on her pink robe, tying the belt as tightly as she could against her abdomen, just enough not to tighten her growing protuberance. She felt her legs wobble slightly as she made her way towards her small bathroom, noticing how weak she had gotten in the last two months. After what Dipper had told her, she wasn't really too surprised about that. She tried to keep her spirits up, but it was just getting harder and harder.

Gently closing the door behind her, she turned around to face her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She couldn't remember the last time she looked so bad. She was drastically losing weight by the day, even if she kept eating like she always did. She looked so skinny, she could easily pass off as some suffering from acute anorexia. Her skin was unbelievably pale and the bags under her eyes were just getting bigger and bigger. It looked like her body was giving up on her. Either that, or the baby she was carrying was slowly draining the life out her.

Mabel lifted the lid off of her toilet and moved her hands towards the skirt of her nightgown, when she felt a searing pain in her head. She closed her eyes and grasped her forehead, hissing in pain and falling backwards towards the wall. As she fell onto the floor on her knees, her mind started flashing random images of pain and despair. Starving children in third world countries, dead bodies swarming with maggots, people burning to death… they just kept getting worse, as did the pain in her head. She whined loudly, tears running down her cheeks from both the pain and the disturbing images she was seeing.

Suddenly it all stopped; the pain, the images, everything. She panted heavily, desperately trying to calm herself. What she had just experienced was one of the worst things she had ever gone through. She opened her eyes, instantly regretting doing so. She was no longer in her bathroom, she was in a forest, one very similar to the ones from Gravity Falls.

Except this one was on fire.

Everywhere she looked, everything was bathed in flames. The trees, the grass, the animals… it was an absolute horror show. She tried to move, but her body refused to. She was petrified, hopelessly watching as the fire ate away at the fauna and flora.

When she was finally able to move, she turned around in order to run away, when she saw a dark figure in front of her. It was a few miles away from her, so she couldn't make out exactly who or what it was. She could almost swear it was kid, due to its small stature. She had just wondered if it was facing her or not, when it slowly turned around to look at her. All Mabel could see was its left eye. It's piercing, slit-like bright red eye. It seemed to stare into her soul, almost as if it knew exactly who she was. Its mouth slowly open to form a devilish grin, showing its razor-sharp teeth.

Mabel could feel herself begin to panic, when the pain her head returned and she closed her eyes again. When she reopened them, she was back in her room. She sighed deeply, thinking everything was back to normal, when she heard a baby crying right next to her. She turned her head to see herself on her bed, lying motionless as Dipper knelt at the foot of her bed between her legs, his hands drenched in blood and a newborn baby in his arms.

"Mabel, it's over!" he exclaimed happily as he cradled the baby. "You did it!"

His expression changed when he heard no response coming from his sister. He gently placed the newborn on the bed as he made his way to her side.

"Mabel? Mabel, can you hear me?" He began to shake her, desperately calling her name as tears streamed down his face. "Mabel, please wake up! Mabel!" He broke into tears, pulling his sister's limp body against his and bawling as he held onto her. "No, please… Mabel… don't go… not yet…"

Mabel was starting to hyperventilate as she watched the events occurring in front of her. What was all this? What did it all mean? Was this… the future?

Her thoughts were interrupted when pain hit her once again, this time much worse than before. She closed her eyes as her brother's voice echoed inside her head, begging her to wake up. She couldn't take much more of this. How much more would she have to endure until she reached her breaking point?

"MABEL!"

Her eyes shot open to meet Dipper's. He was kneeling in front of her as he held her by the shoulders, looking absolutely terrified.

"Mabel, what happened?" he asked, his voice cracking in fear. "I heard you scream and when I came in you were passed out."

Mabel blinked twice, trying to collect her thoughts as she looked around, realizing she was still in the bathroom. She looked back up at her brother to tell him what she had seen, when a feeling of sickness washed over her. She only had time to move her brother aside and crawl towards the toilet, where she threw up all the food she had eaten prior to that moment. Dipper held her hair back as she retched violently, tears running down her cheeks as she remembered what she had witnessed.

"I told you not to eat so much." Dipper sighed and rolled his eyes as he patted his sister's back.

Mabel coughed and began sobbing loudly as she held onto the toilet seat. Dipper placed a hand on her shoulder, confused and worried about what had happened to her to cause such a reaction, when she quickly turned around and held him tightly against her, crying desperately against his chest.

"Mabel? What happened?" Dipper inquired as he comforted the sobbing brunette.

"It… it was horrible!" she replied, raising her head enough to meet her brother's gaze. "First I was in a burning forest, then this weird thing smiled at me, and then I saw… I saw…" her lip trembled and she buried her face into Dipper's shirt again.

"Mabel? Mabel, look at me!" He lifted her head and made her look into his eyes. "What did you see?"

She could see the concern in her twin's eyes. Her tears just wouldn't stop flowing, and she could see he was about to break down as well.

"Dipper… am I going to die?"

Mabel noticed her brother's shocked expression and his eyes widening. He looked down, not wanting to answer her question, but she already knew the answer. She pulled him close once again and resumed crying, feeling his embrace tighten and his body shaking. She knew he was crying too.


	5. Vero Mvevi Ivhgh (Month 3)

"I hate to see her like this. She looks awful."

"I hate it too. You have no idea how these last few days have been…"

Raphi looked over his shoulder towards Mabel's bed, where she was lying motionless and just satring at the ceiling, her eyes swollen and red from crying. From what Dipper had told him, that was how she'd been in the last couple of weeks; depressed and irresponsive. It broke his heart to see such a happy girl reduced to a shell of her former self.

"You think it'll lift her spirits to see me here?" he whispered without looking away from his friend.

"I'm not sure, but I'm glad you came." Dipper replied, running a hand through his hair. "I have to head out and I needed someone to look after her while I'm away. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not! Mabel's my best friend. One of my major duties is to keep her company when no one else is around. You can count on me."

"Good." Dipper grabbed the spare set of keys to his sister's dorm room and reached for the doorknob. "And please try to cheer her up. I don't think I can bare this silence much longer. She hasn't been this quiet since she got her tonsils removed."

Raphi gave the brunet a nod and watched him exit the room, slowly and gently closing the door behind him. He was glad Mabel had such a caring brother who worried so much about her. It was one of the reasons he had developed a crush for his friend's twin when she first introduced them to each other.

"Hey, Mabes." He spoke softly as he took a seat next to her. "How've you been?"

Mabel simply sighed through her nose, her gaze never drifting from the ceiling. Raphi mentally scolded himself. 'How've you been'? What kind of question was that?!

"I've missed you in class." He took her hand in his, gently caressing it. "Things just aren't the same without you there. Who am I going to gossip with, now?"

"I'm sure you'll find someone." She said, her voice sounding hoarse and dry. "Someone who will last longer than me."

"Don't say that!" Raphi snapped. "You know that no one could ever take your place! You're my BFF, remember?"

"You can scratch the last F. Turns out I won't be here forever…"

Raphi racked his brain, trying to think of something that would cheer her up. Then it hit him; something that would definitively bring a smile to the brunette's face.

"Well, if you're not, then I better hurry up and tell you all that's happened lately." He grinned, hoping she would take the bait.

"Is it worth it?"

"You tell me." He beamed at her as he crossed his legs. "I met someone."

"You did?" she asked, her gaze drifting towards him and managing to give him a small smile. "That's great. Who is he?"

"That really hot barista at the school's coffee shop! I never thought much of him, other than how good-looking he was, but one day we just started talking and he asked me out! We're going to the movies on Friday!"

Mabel opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced when Raphi's phone started buzzing in his pocket. A large smile appeared on his face the moment he saw who was calling.

"It's him!" he whispered giddily. "Do you mind if I take this?"

Mabel shook her head and Raphi quickly swiped his finger across the phone's screen, clearing his throat before taking the device up to his ear.

"Hey, you." He said in a seductive tone, standing up and heading towards the door to not bother Mabel with their conversation. "How're you doing? Oh thanks, I missed you too!"

Mabel smiled to herself as her friend exited the room and closed the door behind him as he continued to chat with his possible new boyfriend. She felt happy for him. She even forgot her own problems for a minute as she imagined the barista she had seen so many times before and her best friend going out, her eyelids beginning to feel heavy as she did. She could feel herself start to doze off, so she just closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep, feeling like she hadn't slept in days.

Her eyes snapped open not a minute later. She threw the covers off of her and got up from her bed, walking towards the wall opposite the door, the only one she had left free of any posters or photos. She stared at it for a while as if was the most interesting thing in the world, then elevated her hand over her head and dragged her index finger down against the wall, her nail digging into the drywall and leaving a mark as it went down.

* * *

Dipper returned to the university not an hour later with a large bag full of groceries, and as soon as he entered the building where Mabel's room was, he could feel all eyes on him. Ever since he decided to stay with his sister, all the other girls had either given him depreciative looks or were constantly flirting with him. He honestly didn't know what was worse.

He retrieved his keys from his pocket as he continued to walk down the hallway, when he saw Raphi leaning against the wall next to the door to Mabel's room, chatting happily with someone on his phone. He was so distracted he didn't even notice the brunet walk up to him. Dipper cleared his throat, to which Raphi quickly looked towards him, blushing involuntarily.

"I gotta go. I'll call you back later." He muttered into his phone before ending the call.

"Why are you out here? You were supposed to be looking after Mabel, remember?" Dipper said as he passed him, looking visibly annoyed.

"Mabel's fine. We talked for a bit before I got a call." He raised his phone to emphasize his point.

"How long have you been out here?"

"About half an hour or so."

"What?! You left my sister unsupervised for thirty whole minutes?" Dipper exclaimed as he rushed to the door and hurriedly inserted the key into the lock.

"Oh please, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

Raphi got his answer as soon as the brunet opened the door, both their jaws dropping and their eyes widening with what they saw. The once blank wall in front of them now had what looked like random letters scratched into it, some of them with traces of blood. Mabel was kneeling down on a corner as she scratched the final letter onto the wall, her hands visibly drenched in blood.

"Mabel!" Dipper dropped the bag of groceries and ran towards her, grabbing her by the shoulders and trying to make her look at him. "Mabel, snap out it! Look at me, please!"

Mabel was irresponsive and her eyes glazed over, her focus never leaving the wall in front of her. She gave one final scratch to the wall with her injured finger before looking at her brother. Dipper had never seen her looking at him like that, and he was genuinely scared. It was like her body was completely vacant.

Suddenly she closed her eyes and fell forward against her brother's chest. Dipper sighed in relief; whatever had taken over his sister had finally stopped. He could feel her cold face against his neck and realized she was still in her nightgown.

"I think she'll be OK now, but she's awfully cold." He whispered to Raphi, lifting her hands up and examining the wounds on her fingers.

"Let me take care of her." Raphi declared as he knelt down to stroke her hair. "It's the least I could do. I was supposed to be watching her, after all."

Dipper gave him a smile and a nod as Raphi scooped her limp body into his arms and headed into the bathroom to tend to her injuries. The brunet ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he glanced up at the wall. He was suddenly aware that those markings looked strangely familiar. He stood up and took a few steps back to be able to read what his sister had scratched into the wall.

** _Z Hsllgrmt Hgzi droo uzoo_ **

** _Wrivxgob uiln gsv hpb_ **

** _Rgh wzipmvhh droo yormw_ **

** _Gsv yvzhg drgs qfhg lmv vbv_ **

** _Vero mvevi ivhgh_ **

** _Zmw mvrgsvi wl R_ **

That's when he realized that those weren't just some random letters; that was a coded message!

He quickly ran up to Mabel's desk and retrieved a pencil and piece of paper, where he wrote down the message on the wall. He thought back to all the ciphers he knew and started replacing the letters to form concise sentences. As soon as he was done, he dropped the pencil and stared at the paper in front of him in shock. He knew he shouldn't expect for something good to come out of this, but what he read scared him beyond belief.

** _A Shooting Star will fall_ **

** _Directly from the sky_ **

** _Its darkness will blind_ **

** _The beast with just one eye_ **

** _Evil never rests_ **

** _And neither do I_ **


	6. Tenebrosi Temporis Veniunt (Month 4)

Dipper was exhausted. He hadn't been able to sleep properly since Mabel's last incident. He was always afraid something would happen in the middle of the night and she would need his assistance. He hadn't even been able to focus enough to keep studying. He could feel himself slowly start to lose his sanity.

Pulling the covers over his sister's shoulders, he couldn't help but sigh as he gazed at her sleeping form. He could tell she was getting weaker by the day; her skin was now unbelievably pale and she had lost so much weight he could see the outline of her ribs through her nightgown. In contrast, it seemed like the baby she was carrying was growing a little too healthy, the bulge in her stomach now completely visible. It was obvious that the baby was sucking the life out of her in order to survive, and Dipper didn't like that one bit.

He tiredly rubbed his eyes, his gaze drifting towards the wall where Mabel had carved the coded message a few weeks back. He had painted over the scratches, so the surface was now smooth and clear as it was before, but he could somehow still see the letters that resided under the new layer of white paint, the words he deciphered still haunting his memory.

The brunet jumped up as he heard a noise coming from Mabel's desk, pulling him out of his trance. It was sound he knew all too well: the Skype ringtone. Looking over at his laptop, which sat open on his sister's desk, he couldn't help but smile when he saw a familiar photo of a blonde making a duck face. He sluggishly made his way to the desk and took a seat as he clicked the green camera icon on the screen, the recurring ringtone stopping and Pacifica's smiling face appearing on the screen.

"Hey, Dippy!" she greeted him, her face turning serious right afterwards. "You look terrible."

"Nice to see you, too." He laughed sarcastically.

"Sorry, but you really don't look too good. Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"A little bit, yeah." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm worried something might happen to Mabel during the night and I won't be awake to help her."

"That's understandable. How's she been doing?"

"Not too bad, but not so good, either." He replied, looking back at Mabel. "She's really week, like she's withering away. I'm positive the baby's feeding off of her energy, and the worst part is that there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"You're doing the best you can. If it weren't for you, she'd be much worse." She assured him, giving him a loving smile. "You're a good brother, Dipper."

"Thanks." He said, unable to keep himself from smiling. "So, how've you been? How's law school?"

"Exhausting." She groaned, rolling her eyes. "There's so much to take in… I'm barely keeping up with all the classes I have."

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to someday marrying the great Pacifica Northwest, Attorney at Law." He chuckled.

Pacifica was suddenly silent, her eyes wide and a shocked expression on her face.

"What? Was it the 'marrying' part?" he asked nervously, afraid he had spooked her with that statement. "I-it was only a suggestion! We're still young, and we still need to finish our studies, but I really feel like that would be something worth considering, if you're OK with it."

Without uttering a word, Pacifica slowly lifted her hand into view and pointed at something behind her boyfriend. Dipper raised a brow as he turned around, only for his eyes to widen even more than Pacifica's and all the color to drain from his face. Mabel had levitated off of her bed in her sleep and was floating in midair, only a couple of inches away from the ceiling.

"Oh my God…" he whispered incredulously as he quickly got up and ran to his sister. He pulled her down from the air into his arms and gently slapped her cheek to wake her up. "Mabel, can you hear me? Wake up!"

Mabel opened her eyes, only to scare her brother even more. Instead of her big and bright chocolate-brown irises, there was only whiteness, glowing brightly and seemingly staring into Dipper's soul.

"_Tenebrosi temporis veniunt. Omnes peribunt carorum memoriam tantum manebit._" She spoke in a low and eerie tone. "_Qualis mundus nondum notum est malorum. Et tunc veniet consummatio._"

When she was done talking, her eyelids fell shut and her head fell back, her body feeling limp once more. Dipper sighed and gently placed his sister's unconscious body back onto her bed, pulling the covers over her once again. He looked back at Pacifica on his laptop's screen, who looked like she was about to pass out at any moment.

"I'm sorry you had to see this." He exhaled, returning to his seat at Mabel's desk. "It's been like that for four months, now. I can understand if you're scared."

"I am scared, but not because of that." Pacifica finally spoke up, her shocked expression remaining. "Dipper, did you understand what she said?"

"Of course not, it was Latin."

"I thought so. Well, as a law student I have to take Latin, so I understood everything that she said."

"What did she say, then?" Dipper asked, scooching closer to the desk.

"Something along the lines of 'dark times are coming. All your loved ones will perish and only their memory will remain. The world will know evil like it has never known before. And then the end will come'."

Dipper gulped, flopping back against the chair. First the message carved into the wall, and now this terrible omen. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He buried his face into his hands, feeling himself start to reach his limit.

"Will you be OK?"

He slowly lifted his gaze up towards the screen, where Pacifica was looking worriedly at him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day alone. "I think I just need some rest."

"Yeah, you do that. Do you need anything?"

"No, it's fine, really." He forced a smile. "I feel like I've worried you enough already."

"Well, don't hesitate to call if you ever need anything." She said, giving him an encouraging grin. "I love you, Dipper."

"Love you too, Paz."

He clicked the red button on the screen to end the call and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples to calm his nerves. He could feel himself start to doze off, and for once, he decided to give himself a break. Getting up, he walked towards Mabel's bed and flopped down at her feet, the soft mattress against his back feeling absolutely wonderful. Looking at his sister, he could see she was back to sleeping soundly, so he thought it wouldn't hurt if he just snoozed for a couple of hours.

Nuzzling against the sheets beneath him, he closed his eyes again, feeling himself drift off once more. His only hope was that what had happened wouldn't haunt his dreams.


	7. Words of Discouragement (Month 5)

Mabel opened her eyes, having to adjust her vision to the darkness of the room. It was the middle of the night, yet she had woken up feeling extremely well rested. She slowly sat up against the headboard and looked over at to her desk, where her twin brother was fast asleep on top of some textbooks. She giggled silently; it was just like Dipper to study so much that he'd fall asleep doing so.

She pulled the covers off of herself and hopped off her bed, making sure she was quiet so as not to wake up her twin, immediately wincing as she felt her back muscles being pulled due to the weight of her protuberant stomach. As her right hand massaged her lower back, her left hand held her belly up to keep her muscles from straining any further. She could almost feel the bulge pulse with life, a constant reminder of the unwanted child that was growing inside her.

She never thought she would feel so depressed in a situation like this. She had always dreamt of having a child and being overjoyed about it, but she had been miserable from the day she found out she was pregnant. Bill refused to be there for her and she had no idea where he could be, and besides all the suffering the baby had caused her, she was most likely going to die after giving birth. This wasn't at all how she wanted her life to end.

Suddenly she became aware of how thirsty she was, so she halfheartedly walked to the bathroom, the floor feeling cold under her bare feet. Grabbing the glass she always kept on the sink, she turned on the tap and filled it with water. She turned around and leaned against the sink as she took small sips, allowing her mind to wander. She could hear Dipper's light snoring echoing from the other room, making her smile and thinking about all the good he's been doing to her and how he's been taking care of her throughout this bad phase. She knew she could always count on him for anything, but it still warmed her heart to see how much he cared.

"He's lying."

Her head shot up as she frantically looked around the bathroom. Did she just hear a voice? There was no one there besides her, so maybe it could've just been her imagination.

"He hates you. He always has."

She looked around again, feeling her heart start to pound against her chest. It was clear that she heard a voice, but she was still the only one in the room.

"He-hello?" she stuttered as she continued to look around the room. "Is anyone there?"

"He's always hated being the beta twin, and he's never forgiven you for making him feel like that."

Mabel began to hyperventilate without even knowing. It was like the voice was inside her head. And it was clearly a child's voice.

"Y-you're wrong! Dipper would never hate me! He loves me just as much as I love him."

The voice in her head released a high-pitched giggle, which sent shivers down her spine.

"You really think so? How naïve can you be? He hates you… just like everyone else."

Mabel backed up against the wall in fear, fresh tears pricking her eyes.

"What… what're you talking about?"

"Nobody likes you. Your friends, your family… even your own boyfriend."

Her eyes widened and her heart sank as she let out a small gasp. She clenched her fists as she felt anger taking over her body.

"What could you possibly know about Bill?!" she shouted into the air, tears now running down her cheeks.

The giggling returned, this time louder and sounding a bit hysterical.

"How could I not know about my own father?"

Mabel almost felt her breathing stop upon hearing those words. She looked down dumbfoundedly at her large stomach, barely believing her own unborn child was having a conversation with her.

"You… you're my baby?"

"Took you long enough."

"Why are you talking to me?"

"I thought it would be nice to have a proper conversation with you. You know, since your time is pretty much limited. And I gotta say, I never thought you'd be this dumb."

"Why are you being so mean to me? I'm your mother!"

"And you're a sap, too. Don't you get it? They all want you dead."

"STOP!" Mabel shrieked, grasping her head and shutting her eyes as she slid down onto the floor. "Leave me alone!"

"They can't wait until the day you're gone. And most of them are glad to know that it will be coming soon."

"Shut up! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

The voice cackled maniacally before silencing itself completely. Mabel opened her eyes, assuming it was all over, when she saw the same dark figure she had seen in her future visions right in front of her. This time she could clearly see the whiteness of its razor-sharp teeth and the redness of its only visible eye as it peered down at her with a wicked grin.

"You won't get rid of me that easily."

Its eye emitted a blinding glow, making Mabel shut her eyes to avoid its brightness. When she reopened them she saw she was alone in the bathroom once again. Her heart was beating frantically and her breathing was shallow, her child's words still echoing inside her mind.

She pushed herself up from the floor and walked out of the bathroom, wrapping her arms around herself to steady her nerves as she felt herself trembling. She headed towards her bed, but she knew she would never be able to fall asleep again. She looked over at her brother, who had been unaware of all that had just happened. She knew he had been really tired lately, but the position he was in looked anything but comfortable.

"Dipper?" she whispered as she shook his shoulder. "Dipper, go to bed."

He groggily stood up without even opening his eyes and stumbled towards the pull-out couch he had been using as a bed for the past five months. He flopped down on the mattress, which creaked under his weight, and resumed his snoring. Mabel smiled sadly as she did the same and snuggled against him, pulling the covers over them both. She closed her eyes and sighed, relishing the warmth of her brother's body. She might not be able to go back to sleep that night, but at least she knew she was safe next to him.


	8. A Baby Shower to Remember (Month 6)

"Come on Mabel, you've gotta eat something."

Mabel sighed as she glanced down at the plate on her lap, which held an untouched slice of pizza. On any other day she would've eaten it and asked for seconds, but today her appetite was eluding her.

"I'm not hungry…" she mumbled, pushing the food away from her.

"I can understand how you're feeling, but starving yourself isn't going to help in any way." Dipper stated as he took her plate. "You need to think about yourself and the ba-"

Dipper silenced himself as soon as he realized what he was about to say. He could see the hurt expression on his sister's face, her lip trembling and tears starting to trickle from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Mabel." He said as he comfortingly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It just slipped out."

She held onto his shirt as she buried her face into his chest, sobbing heavily as he rubbed her back. Dipper could feel her tears soak through his clothes, but he didn't care.

"I hate this, Dipper..." she whined as she pulled him closer. "I've never felt so bad in my whole life. This baby is doing terrible things to me, Bill left me to deal with this on my own, and worst of all..." she paused for a second, a loud whimper escaping her lips. "…I'm going to die!"

She continued to cry desperately in her twin's embrace, feeling like her whole world was falling apart. Dipper tried desperately to keep his own emotions at bay, so as not to make his sister feel even worse. He swore that he would kick Bill's ass if he ever saw him again.

"Oh, Mabel…" He sighed, hugging her tighter. "I wish I could do something to make you feel better."

Right then, as if on cue, there was a loud knock at the door. It sounded like someone was purposely banging on it, which scared Dipper. Who in the world could it be at that hour?

He slowly stood up and walked towards the door, feeling somewhat nervous. Gripping the doorknob, he gulped before turning it and pulling the door open. He barely had any time to react before he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by a pair of very strong arms.

"Look at this guy! Man, you got really hot!"

Once he overcame the initial shock he realized who was at the door. Before him stood a large girl with auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail, who was grinning wildly as she held him a strong embrace, and behind her stood a bespectacled Korean girl with straight black hair, holding two large heavy-looking plastic bags.

"Candy and Grenda?" Dipper wheezed. "What're you two doing here?"

"We're here to surprise Mabel. Pacifica told us she was expecting a baby, so we wanted to congratulate her." Candy explained, lifting up the plastic bags. "We brought presents!"

"We're really excited to become aunts!" Grenda added, tightening her embrace around the brunet. "I can barely contain my excitement!"

"Could you please contain it for just a few seconds and let me go?" Dipper whined as he tried to pull away from Grenda's grasp.

"Dipper, who's at the door?" Mabel asked from inside the room.

Grenda quickly released Dipper, almost throwing him against the wall as she and Candy ran into the room with large grins across their faces.

"SURPRISE!" the two girls exclaimed in unison. "BABY SHOWER!"

"What?" Mabel gasped, unable to keep herself from smiling as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You guys! You shouldn't have!"

"Of course we had!" said Candy. "You're having a baby!"

"I haven't been this hyped since Marius proposed!" Grenda squealed, squeezing her cheeks.

"You guys have some impeccable timing." Dipper chuckled, rubbing his now sore limbs. "I need to meet up with a guy from my Theoretical Physics class who has some notes for me and I didn't want to leave Mabel alone. You guys mind watching over her while I step out for a bit?"

"Of course not, we'd be delighted!" Grenda replied as she took a seat next to Mabel and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Why are you taking a Theoretical Physics class, though?" Candy inquired, placing the bags at the foot of Mabel's bed. "You're majoring in Parapsychology, right?"

"It was an optional class, and I figured I'd give it a shot." Dipper answered as he took his phone from his pocket and proceeded to text his friend about when and where they would meet. "I like it, but professor Cooper is a real pain in the ass. You really don't wanna get on his bad side, and trust me when I say that's really easy. That's why I really need those notes. If my grades drop, he'll never let me live it down."

"Will you be gone long?" Mabel pouted.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." he assured her, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "Take good care of my sister, girls."

"We will!" Candy and Grenda replied, waving at the brunet as he walked towards the door.

As soon as Dipper closed the door behind him, Candy grabbed both plastic bags and turned them over, spilling the many gifts they contained onto Mabel's legs.

"Time for presents!" she said as she tossed the now empty bags away.

"Open mine first!" Grenda exclaimed, picking up a sloppily wrapped gift and practically shoving it into Mabel's face. "It's a onesie!"

"Grenda, did you remember to bring the cupcakes?" Candy asked as she inspected the boxes before her.

"I thought _you_ had them."

"We agreed that was your task! I can't believe you forgot them!"

"Dang it! Now what're we gonna eat?" Grenda complained, punching the mattress beneath her in rage before noticing the open pizza box on Mabel's desk. "Oh hey, there's some grub right there!"

She almost ran up to the desk and started wolfing down the food without even thinking about the other two girls in the room.

"You're going to love my present!" Candy commented as she handed her gift to Mabel. "It's genetically modified baby food to make your baby smarter."

"Sounds neat." Mabel giggled halfheartedly.

She glanced over at Grenda, who was still devouring what was supposed to have been her lunch. She was glad her friends were there with her, but she wished the circumstances would've been better. She could barely feel any joy at all.

As she observed the large girl, Mabel's gaze drifted towards the large knife that Dipper left on her desk, which he had used to slice the pizza. Somehow, the object captured her attention more than anything else in the room. It seemed to be calling out to her, attracting her to it with its shiny presence. A strong feeling washed over her, her eyes beginning to glow red.

* * *

"The vacuum state of string theory has a different interpretation from the analogous object in field theory. This is not the vacuum state of space-time. It is instead the vacuum state of a single string."

Dipper went through his notes as he entered the dormitory, reading the text to himself as he made his way down the hallway towards Mabel's room and still being able to avoid running into anyone as he did. He sighed contentedly; he really loved learning.

He lifted his gaze away from the papers in his hands as he neared his sister's door, where he saw something that worried him: Candy was outside the room with her back pressed against the door as she panted heavily, her eyes as wide as they could get and her face looking paler than usual.

"Candy, what happened?" he inquired the terrified Korean girl as he finally reached the door.

"Dipper! I'm so glad you're here!" she almost shouted, a look of pure horror on her face as she grabbed his arms. "It's Mabel! She… I don't even… She tried to kill me!"

"She what?!" he gasped, dropping his notes.

"I was able to escape in time, but Grenda's still in there!"

He quickly walked around her and opened the door, his heart sinking when he saw what was happening inside: Grenda was holding Mabel tightly against her with one arm, while the other held up her right hand, which held the knife he had used earlier. Mabel grunted and squirmed wildly, kicking her friend's legs in an attempt to escape her clutches.

"Let me go, you behemoth!" Mabel growled, trying with all her might to free her arm. "I'll gut you like a fish!"

"Not today, sister!" Grenda retorted, tightening her grasp around the brunette.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dipper asked as he entered the room and approached the two girls, making sure to keep a safe distance.

"I don't know, she's gone bonkers! She just grabbed the knife and started trying to stab us!"

"Dipper, what is going on?" Candy inquired, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"I'll explain it later. Right now we need to calm her down and get her to come to her senses." Dipper said as he carefully stepped closer.

"Get away from me, asshole!" Mabel snarled, the red glow in her eyes shining brighter.

"Mabel, can you hear me? I know you're in there. I need you to listen to me."

"No, you listen to _me_! As soon as I free myself from this bloated gorilla's grasp…"

"Hey!" Grenda complained.

"…I will kill you and everyone else in this room! And I'll enjoy it, too."

"Mabel, this isn't you!" Dipper pleaded, advancing one more step. "Come on, snap out of it! You have to fight… whatever it is that's doing this to you!"

Mabel suddenly ceased her squirming, her legs stopping and her arm feeling limp in Grenda's hand. Her expression changed from anger to surprise as she eyed her brother, and for a moment Dipper thought he had gotten through to her. That was until a wide grin spread across her face and she began giggling, which quickly evolved into maniacal cackling.

"Are you serious right now?" she asked between chuckles. "Come on, how gullible can you be?"

"W-what do you mean?" Dipper stammered, instinctively taking a step back.

"Wow. I honestly thought you were a lot smarter than this… _uncle_."

Dipper's eyes widened and he had to take another step back, or else he would've fallen over.

"You… what…"

"Shocking, isn't it?" Mabel giggled.

"Mabel's baby is talking through her?" Grenda gasped. "What a plot twist!"

"Why are you doing this?" Dipper stepped forward once more, having found his courage again. "You're hurting your own mother!"

"I am well aware of that." She declared a little too calmly. "But do have in mind that this is only a sample of my power. When I acquire a physical form, there will be no limit to what I'll be able to do. I will tear this world apart. Humanity will perish, and I will reign supreme. So be prepared, because when I get my hands on you, you will wish you had never been born."

Mabel's hand opened and the knife dropped to the floor with a loud clank, her body becoming limp in Grenda's embrace. Understanding she was now unconscious, she lowered Mabel's body onto her bed, careful not to hurt her in any way. Dipper and the girls simply stood by Mabel's side staring at her in silence, as if expecting something else to happen.

"That was the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed." Candy broke the silence after what seemed like an eternity, hugging herself for comfort.

"What the flop was that all about?" Grenda asked as she scratched her head.

"You better take a seat, girls." Dipper sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "I've got some explaining to do."


	9. Calm Before the Storm (Month 7)

Dipper tossed and turned on the pull-out couch, occasionally lifting his head to peer at his sister's sleeping form. His heart beat heavily against his chest as he did, even when he confirmed that she was sound asleep. Before he would do this out of concern for her, but now he was driven to insomnia by utter fear.

If the brunet ever told anyone that he was scared to death of Mabel, they would most likely laugh their heads off and call him an idiot. But he had a perfectly good reason to feel that way. It had begun five days ago, when he had woken up in the middle of the night with the need to have a glass of water and saw his twin standing next to him holding a knife over her head and staring at him with a terrifying glare. He involuntarily let out a shriek, and with that Mabel seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in. She seemed confused at first, and when she saw the knife in her hand she immediately dropped it and took a step back with a yelp.

Episodes like these kept happening all throughout the week. One day he had made Mabel some tea, and accidentally spilled it on her bare leg. He expected her to react to the scalding liquid by screaming or at least hissing, but instead she just stared at it speechlessly for a few seconds, afterwards erupting in a laughing fit. It sent shivers down his spine to see her react that way. It reminded him of the time Bill took over his body and discovered that pain was hilarious.

He noticed some other changes in her behavior as the week progressed. She began to act snarky towards him without even knowing, making cruel comments whenever he tried to have a serious conversation with her. He knew it wasn't really her talking to him like that, but it hurt him nonetheless.

The last straw came two days ago, when he had bought soup from a nearby store for lunch. He had placed the containers on Mabel's desk, when he noticed that the plastic spoons that came with them were nowhere to be found. He retraced his steps and looked out the door to see if he had dropped them, noticing they were on the floor just a few feet away from the door. He picked them up and walked back into the room, only to drop the spoons again. Mabel had taken the lid off of one of the soup containers and was pouring the contents of a bottle of bleach into it, certainly planning to serve it to him afterwards. She turned around to look at him, her eyes glowing blood-red as they had before. They returned to normal not a second later, and she dropped the bleach as soon as she saw what she was doing. Looking back at her shocked twin, she quickly burst into tears and ran into the bathroom, where she locked herself for the rest of the day.

He worried about her a lot more than he let on. He tried to look confident and calm around her, not wanting her to feel worse than she already did, but the truth was that he was a wreck inside. He wanted all this to be over, to go back to how it used to be, when it was just him and her living their lives without nothing too big to worry about. A part of him wanted to back to his childhood, to those happy moments they spent together in Gravity Falls.

He heard rustling coming from the other side of the room. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he saw Mabel had shifted to lie on her back. He stared at her large stomach under the covers and sighed; only two months left. Two months until her demon child is unleashed into the world, and then she will…

He rubbed his eyes again as tears threatened to fall from them. The last thing he wanted to be reminded of was what would happen to his sister after giving birth. He had always wanted to be an uncle, even more than being a parent himself, but never like this. He felt his heart heavy with sorrow and worry; he didn't want to lose his twin, especially not in such a horrible way.

He got up and headed towards the bathroom for a glass of water, his mouth feeling incredibly dry. He was only a few steps away from the door when he heard a noise breaking the peaceful silence around him: humming. Turning around towards his sister, he saw she was still lying on her bed with her eyes closed, a smile across his face as she hummed a familiar tune that he recognized as being 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. He didn't think much of it, knowing Mabel was known for sometimes talking in her sleep, but that all changed when she opened her mouth and breathed in.

_"_ _Twinkle twinkle, Shooting Star_

_I'll be watching from afar_

_Up above the world so high_

_Laughing as your loved ones die_

_Twinkle twinkle, Shooting Star_

_You'll be left with quite a scar."_

Dipper could feel is breathing stop as he cautiously took a step forward towards his sister, his heart beating even faster now.

_"_ _When all life on Earth is gone_

_I'll be the one who rules upon_

_It will be oh so much fun_

_Killing humans one by one_

_Twinkle twinkle, Shooting Star…"_

Dipper's heart sunk when she opened her eyes and gave him a devilish grin, her eyes glowing bright red as they had before.

_"…_ _You'll die in a way that's most bizarre."_


	10. Our Only Hope (Month 8)

"Ngh… n-no, please… stay away…"

Dipper sighed as he gently placed a wet cloth on Mabel's forehead. She must've been having a fever-induced nightmare, and a very disturbing one at that. Sweat poured down her face as she squirmed in her sleep, her cheeks flushed red and unbelievably warm. He had checked her temperature earlier, and almost fell backwards when he saw the thermometer marked 106 degrees. He had never seen such a high fever in his life, and that made him fear for his sister's wellbeing. If she were to reach 107 degrees that could cause brain damage.

"No… why are you doing this to me?" Mabel whimpered in her sleep, seemingly on the verge of tears. "Please… don't leave me…"

"Oh, Mabel…" he sighed again, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "If only there was something I could do to help you."

"Come back… Bill…"

Dipper's eyes widened as an idea popped into his head, one that he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of before. If there was anyone who could help Mabel was the very one who left her in this situation to begin with. He had to find Bill and convince him to come back, no matter what it took.

"I'm sorry…" Mabel whispered between sobs. "Please forgive me…"

"Hang on, Mabel." He whispered, gently running his hands through her hair. "I'll fix this."

He retrieved his laptop from his bag and turned it on, after which he quickly opened the CD tray. There lied a folded piece of paper, which he took out and carefully unfolded. The paper was yellowed with age and its edges were torn; clearly it had been there for a while.

This was no ordinary piece of paper; it was a page that had been torn out of one of Ford's journals. He had taken out that particular page long before his precious journals had been destroyed during Weirdmageddon for safe keeping and in case he would ever need it, and he had given it to Dipper when he found out Mabel was dating Bill. He told him to hide it in a safe place and only use it in case of an emergency.

Dipper took a deep breath as he traced a finger over his great-uncle's loopy handwriting. What he was about to do had never been done before by another living being. It was extremely dangerous and there was a strong chance that he would never make it back. But he had to do it. It was his only shot at saving his sister.

Dipper Pines had to travel into Bill's realm, the mindscape.

His mouth felt dry and his hands were shaky and sweaty as he tried to bring himself to recite the Latin incantation on the old piece of paper. He finally steadied his nerves when he reminded himself of his mission: saving his sister from certain doom.

_"__Hic pro te pura. Nihil enim mihi conscius et quid sit."_ He began as he closed his eyes and gripped the paper tightly. _"Non magis consilium vobis scire."_ He opened his eyes, which were now glowing bright blue. _"__In regnum eundum ad omnia scientem!"_

The glow in his eyes disappeared only for them to fall shut as he lost his senses and collapsed on the floor. When he came to, he had no idea where he was. He looked around and saw that the place was very similar to Gravity Falls during Weirdmageddon, minus the town itself. It was like a barren wasteland full of weirdness.

He lifted himself up and dusted his clothes as best as he could as he tried to spot Bill or a place where he could. Right away he saw a floating pyramid in the horizon, the same one where Bill had held all the inhabitants of Gravity Falls after turning them to stone.

"Of course…" he deadpanned before starting to make his way towards the levitating structure.

Gravel crunched under his feet as he walked across the seemingly empty plains. He kept his eyes open in case something attacked him. He remembered how vicious Bill's 'friends' were, especially the giant head with the arm who wanted him to go into his mouth. He really hoped he wouldn't run into that guy.

After what seemed like hours he finally arrived at the pyramid, only to realize there was no way he could reach the entrance. He looked around for anything he could use to hoist himself up towards the door, when he noticed a small pillar on his left with a small button which he assumed to be the doorbell. That was convenient; a little too convenient. Knowing Bill, that could very well be a trap, but he was out of options and he really needed to talk to him.

His hand trembled as he reached for the button with his index finger and slowly pressed it. Nothing seemed to be happening, and he felt somewhat relieved by that, but his relief was quickly replaced by shock when he felt the floor open beneath him. He fell for what felt like a millisecond until he landed on the floor, groaning in pain as he sat up and cracked his back.

"You shouldn't've come here."

He wiped his head around and saw the one he had come looking for. Bill was back to his original triangular form, hovering in the air as he gazed out the window with his back turned to the brunet.

"I had to." He replied as he lifted himself up. "I need your help. _Mabel_ needs your help."

The demon sighed before turning towards the boy, lowering himself onto his new glass throne and looking rather annoyed.

"I know. I've been watching her throughout these last few months." He said as he waved his hand, a big gold-framed mirror appearing in front him. He turned the mirror towards Dipper, where he saw an image of Mabel still asleep in her room. "I might have left, but I never stopped caring about her."

"Then why did you leave in the first place?"

"It's too complicated." He replied, making the mirror vanish with a snap of his fingers. "You wouldn't understand."

"What I don't understand is how you could leave Mabel in a time like this!" Dipper exclaimed, lifting his arms up in outrage. "You say you still care about her, but if you really did care you'd be there by her side supporting her!"

"I can't."

"Why not?!"

"Because I don't want to see her SUFFER!" He yelled, banging a fist against the throne's armrest and turning red with anger. "I've seen the future, and I know how this will all end! The thing growing inside her is pure evil, and it's going to kill her the very second it enters this world!" he calmed down a bit, returning to his usual yellow color. "I can't bear to be there when that happens. I can't just stand and watch her die. I couldn't live with myself after witnessing that."

Dipper was amazed to hear Bill speak those words, and even more to see him look genuinely worried. It almost made him feel sorry for the demon.

* * *

_"_ _Mabel… Maaaaabeeel…"_

Mabel slowly opened her eyes as she heard someone whisper her name. That voice sounded so familiar…

She blinked a few times to adjust her vision, her eyes shooting open when she saw Bill floating right in front of her.

"Bill?" she gasped as she sat up, tears of joy threatening to fall from her eyes. "You came back!"

The yellow one-eyed triangle turned around and flew away without uttering a word, going through the door instead of opening it.

"Bill, wait!" she called out, pulling the covers off of herself and quickly hopping off of her bed. "Don't leave me again!"

She put on her slippers and her robe and practically ran out the door, following Bill down the hall. The demon floated up the stairs, the brunette following not too far behind.

* * *

"Look, I get how you're feeling right now. Believe me, I feel the exact same way!" Said dipper as he took a few steps forward. "But you can still change this. There's gotta be something you can do to prevent it."

"There isn't. Like I said, I've seen the future, and there's nothing anyone can do to change the future."

"That's not true. No one's future is written. The future is whatever we make of it. And in this case, it's whatever _you_ make of it."

Bill didn't say anything; he seemed to be contemplating what the brunet had just said. He levitated off of his throne and turned to look out the window again, his hands folded behind his back.

"If only it were that easy…" he sighed.

For the first time in his life, Dipper felt sympathy towards the demon. It must've been because they felt the same way about something for once. Even though Bill's facial expressions were hard to decipher, he could clearly see he was devastated by this whole situation.

"You might want to go back, now." Said Bill as he snapped his fingers, the mirror reappearing in front of Dipper. "The kid's causing her to hallucinate, and I think it's leading her up to the roof."

Bill wasn't kidding; the mirror showed Mabel was walking up the stairs and was about to open the door that lead to the building's roof. There was no doubt that the baby had something bad in store for her.

"I have to get to her before something happens." He declared before turning around and running towards the exit, only to stop when he realized there was no exit. "Hey, Bill?" he turned back around and rubbed the back of his neck. "How do I get out of here?"

"I'll send you back." Bill said as he turned to face the boy. "Just promise me you'll never come back."

"Only if you promise you'll think about this talk we just had."

Bill muttered something close to a 'fine' and snapped his fingers, making the brunet disappear from his pyramid. He sat back down on his throne and conjured a framed picture he had of Mabel and him in his human form that they had taken the previous summer. His brow furrowed, a single tear escaping his eye.

"I miss you every day, Shooting Star…"

* * *

"Bill, slow down!"

Mabel followed the demon across the roof, the evening breeze blowing against her face and sending shivers through her body. Bill stopped at the edge of the roof and turned around, his back turned to the setting sun.

_"__Come with me, Mabel."_ He spoke softly, extending a hand towards her._ "I'll take you to my realm, where we can live together for all of eternity."_

"You really mean it?" she asked gleefully, stepping forward towards the edge.

_"_ _Of course. Just take my hand, Mabel… and I promise all of your dreams will come true."_

She slowly lifted her hand towards his as she now stood directly on the edge of the roof. Her fingers were mere inches away from his hand when a horrible thought crossed her mind, causing her smile to disappear.

"Bill never calls me by my real name…" she whispered to herself, her hand having stopped in front of her face.

Suddenly the Bill that was floating in front of her disappeared in a puff of yellow smoke, making her take a step back with a yelp. Then she heard laughter coming from behind her; childish laughter. Her eyes widened when she realized she recognized that laughter.

She quickly turned around and her fears were confirmed: there stood the dark figure she had seen three months ago, its red eye shining brightly as it gave her a wicked grin.

_"_ _Have a nice trip."_

She didn't know how it was able to perform such a task, but somehow it managed to give her a hard shove towards the edge of the roof.

Mabel felt herself falling in slow-motion as her life flashed before her eyes. It was weird; she could see every important moment so clearly, it felt as if she were reliving them again. All her joys, her fears, her regrets… right up to the moment she was born. She could see herself and Dipper lying on separate beds in the maternity ward, their parents giving them warm smiles as they watched their twin newborns.

She wished they were there, but mostly she wished Dipper was there with her in her final moments, just as they were together in the beginning.

She closed her eyes and embraced her faith, letting out what she thought was her final breath, when she suddenly felt someone pulling her by her arm. She realized she wasn't falling anymore when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, her face being pressed against someone's clothed chest. All she heard was frantic panting as she felt the heart of whoever was holding her beat rapidly against their chest.

Opening her eyes and looking up, she saw it was her brother who was holding her tightly against him, tears streaming down his face as he kept panting in panic.

"Don't… don't you ever… scare me like that again." He said between breaths, tightening his embrace around her.

Mabel felt herself start to tear up as she hugged him back as tightly as he was hugging her, thanking the heavens that he showed up when he did. He was always there for her when she needed, and she felt like she didn't deserve him. And what was worse was that she knew he wouldn't be able to save her when her final moment came.

And it was only one month away.


	11. It's Time (Month 9)

Booming thunder and heavy rain falling against the window; those were the only sounds that could be heard in the otherwise still night. Being it July, that was a rather unusual weather condition, seeing as the summers in that area were usually some of the hottest in the country. That could only be a bad omen.

Dipper did his best to keep himself awake as he typed away on his laptop, his eyelids feeling heavier by the second. He didn't want to be asleep in case his sister needed him. Mabel was in her final month, which meant she could go into labor at any moment, and then… he didn't want to think about what would happen next. He just had to keep himself awake no matter what, just like he had been doing for the past week.

He rubbed his eyes and slapped his cheeks to wake himself up as best as he could. Looking back at his sister, he saw she was still sound asleep. His eyes involuntarily wandered towards her stomach, which was now so large it looked like it could explode any minute. Dipper's heart ached as he remembered what his great-uncle had told him eight months ago. If Mabel was destined to have the same fate as the woman he had told him about, then these would be the final moments he would be able to spend with his twin sister.

Swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat and wiping away the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, the brunet turned back towards his laptop screen and tried to focus on what he was writing. After so many hours of sleep deprivation, the words didn't seem to make any sense anymore. They seemed to all blend together and form an inconsistent blur. He could kill for a coffee right now, but it was past midnight and all the cafes were closed by now. Plus he _really_ didn't want to leave Mabel alone.

He settled for doing the next best thing to wake himself up: wash his face. He groaned as he lifted himself from his seat and felt just how sore his muscles were. Taking a quick glance towards his sister, he dragged himself towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him, his legs feeling like they were about give in.

Mabel sat up with a yelp as a particularly loud thunder roared outside, griping the sheets tightly as she panted and tried to steady her rapidly beating heart. She looked around, feeling a bit confused at first but then remembering she had fallen asleep a few hours ago. She felt the baby stir inside her and involuntarily brought her hands to lightly rub her stomach, forgetting for a second that the being growing inside her would soon be her doom.

Glancing up, she realized that her brother wasn't in the room anymore. She was about to call for him, when she felt a horrible cramp that started in her back and radiated into her stomach. She grasped her large belly and shut her eyes tightly as she doubled over and wheezed in pain. Suddenly she felt like something popped inside of her, and she instantly opened her eyes when she felt a warm fluid flow down through her inner thighs and onto the bed. Her eyes widened and she felt all color drain from her face when she looked down and saw blood leaking from between her legs.

"Dipper…" she tried to scream, but all she could muster was a loud whisper before she felt another wave of searing pain run through her body.

* * *

Dipper splashed some water onto his face, instantly feeling a bit more awake as the cold liquid hit his skin. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror after wiping his face with a hand towel, releasing a tired sigh when he noticed how bad he looked. His skin was paler than usual and his eyes were blood-shot and had enormous bags under them. Caring for his sister had really taken its toll on him, but he didn't regret it one bit.

He jumped up when another thunder struck; the storm outside was really getting out of hand. It almost frightened him, but not as much as the knowledge of what could happen to Mabel in his absence.

That's when he heard something that really frightened him: his sister screaming.

He swung the door open and ran out of the bathroom to find his sister holding onto her swollen abdomen as she panted frantically, tears running down her face with no intension of stopping soon. He was about to ask what was wrong, when he saw the blood-stained sheets underneath her.

"Mabel…" he muttered as he watched her, feeling like his body had become frozen from fear.

"Dipper…" she whimpered, her face contorted in pain. "I think the baby's coming…"

"No… no, it can't be!" he said desperately as he knelt down beside her. "It's… it's too soon! This can't be happening right now! I just – "

His panicked rant was interrupted when Mabel took hold of his hand and squeezed it tightly. He looked up at his sister, her face washed in tears and looking completely helpless.

"It's no use, Dipper." She sniffled, the tears continuing to stream down her cheeks. "It's time."

Dipper couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down in tears. He held onto his sister and buried his face into her lap as he released all the sorrow and stress he had been keeping in during the past months.

"I'm sorry, Mabel…" He sobbed heavily in despair. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything to protect you…"

"I'm sorry too, Dipper… I'm sorry I had to put you through all this…"

"I should've been there for you…" He continued to cry as he looked up at her. "I should've found a way to help you."

"This isn't your fault, Dipper." She sniveled, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck. "It's – "

"It's mine."

They whipped their heads around towards the source of that statement, their eyes widening to the size of dinner plates when they saw the floating one-eyed triangle in the middle of the room.

"BILL?!" the exclaimed in unison.

"This is all my fault, and not just for causing this." He said as he hovered towards Mabel, soothingly running a hand through her hair. "I never should've left you, Shooting Star. I hope you can forgive me."

"Is it really you?" she asked incredulously, her lips curling into a small smile. "This is not just another hallucination?"

"Nope, not this time." He declared, doing a backflip in midair to prove his point. "This is the real me."

"Bill, I'm glad you're back and all, but you couldn't have done it in a worse time." Said Dipper as Mabel released another scream in agony. "The baby's on its way, and you know what that means."

"I do, and believe or not, I've come prepared with a solution."

"Are you serious?!" Dipper almost shouted in surprise. "You actually know a way to save her life?"

"Yes, but you won't like it." He told the brunet before turning towards his beloved. "Shooting Star, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do." She replied, holding onto her stomach as another wave of pain coursed through her.

"Do you trust me with your _life_?"

She was silent for about a second, and Bill started to think she had changed her mind about him during the time he was absent, but all his worries and uncertainties disappeared when he saw her smile at him.

"Till the very end." She declared confidently, and even though Bill didn't have a mouth, she could almost swear she had seen him smile.

"Then take my hand." He instructed her as he extended his right hand in her direction.

She glanced briefly at the slim extremity and gave a single nod before grabbing hold of it. Bill tightened his grip around her hand and pulled Mabel out of her own body with one swift movement.

"What… uh?" Mabel questioned as she looked at new transparent form. "Bill, what're you doing?"

"The only thing I _can_ do."

Mabel watched in awe as he dived into her now lifeless body, which afterwards opened its eyes to show they were now yellow and the pupils black and slit-like. This must've been what Dipper felt when the demon did the same to him all those years ago, she thought.

Bill barely had time to adjust to his new body before he felt it ache excruciatingly, unable to keep himself from releasing a blood-curdling screech.

"HOLY HELL, THIS IS HORRIBLE!" He shouted at the top of his, or better, _her_ lungs.

"Wait, how is this supposed to help?" Dipper inquired, involuntarily inching away.

"This will keep her from dying once the baby is born." Bill panted as he gripped the sheets beneath him. "I'm immortal, remember?"

"But how does that work? Won't her body die anyway?"

"Not as long as I'm in here. It'll hurt like hell, but my healing factor will keep her body alive." He stated as he felt another unbearable cramp. "CRAP ON A CRACKER!"

"So, I'm going to live?" Mabel asked gleefully.

"Yes… as long as your brother hurries this up!" he hissed, glaring menacingly at the brunet.

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?" Dipper questioned in confusion.

"DAMN IT PINE TREE, I NEED YOU TO DELIVER THIS BABY!"

Dipper almost felt his heart stop upon hearing those words. _He_ was going to have to deliver his sister's baby?! Sure, there was no one else they could ask, but he really didn't want to do that. Not only was going to have to do something he knew nothing about, besides what he had seen in movies, he was going to have to deliver a demon baby… while another demon was possessing his sister's body.

"I'm not sure if want to do this…" Dipper cringed, his gaze unknowingly drifting towards the spot between his twin's closed legs.

"Well, you don't really have a choice! NOW GET TO IT BEFORE I TEAR YOU APART LIMB FROM LIMB!" Bill yelled, the pain he was feeling growing in intensity and frequency by the minute.

Dipper gulped and took a deep breath as he tried to force himself to do what the demon had ordered him to do. He climbed onto the bed and positioned himself between his sister's legs, carefully pushing them apart and pulling away her blood-soaked underwear as he avoided making eye with her nether regions.

Two hours passed and the baby still hadn't come out. Bill was a sweating panting mess, exhausted from all the pushing and screaming. Mabel watched the process attentively, a little glad that wasn't her. She was so grateful Bill had offered to give birth in her place. She just wished she was able to hold his hand in order to soothe him.

"Keep pushing, I can see the head!" Dipper declared, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Ooohh, DAMN IT!" Bill screamed in pain as he pushed again. "Shooting Star, I'm so sorry! If I knew this was how it felt to give birth, I never would've put you through this!"

"It's OK, Bill. I already forgave you." She assured him, feeling sorry for the dream demon. Since he wasn't used to feeling pain, this must've felt even more painful than usual.

"The baby's almost out! Just one more push!" Dipper exclaimed, lightly tugging the baby's head.

Bill gave one final shriek as he felt the brunet pull out the rest of the baby. He collapsed onto Mabel's pillow feeling completely spent, panting a couple of times before exiting the brunette's body and falling onto the floor in exhaustion. Mabel floated back into her body, groaning as she felt how sore it was.

"Ugh, I feel like I was run over by an RV." She grumbled, looking over the side of her bed to check on her panting boyfriend. "How are you feeling, Bill?"

"Terrible, thanks for asking." He chuckled lightly between breaths as he snapped his fingers and turned back to his human form. "Remind me never to do that again."

"Hey, guys…"

They both sat up to look at Dipper, who smiled as he cradled the newborn child in his arms.

"It's a girl." He whispered as he turned the baby to show her to her parents.

She was round a slightly chubby, with milky white skin and strands of dark-purple hair at the top of her head. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, and looked so peaceful and innocent that it was hard to believe she was a half-demon who had sworn to destroy humanity. Even Dipper couldn't help but feel some sort of affection towards his newborn niece.

"Did… did I make that?" Bill asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, Bill." Mabel replied, taking hold of his hand. "_We_ made that."

Dipper handed the baby to her father, who almost teared up when he held her in his arms.

"She's… beautiful." He said as he held her in front of him to look at her face. "Who's daddy's little devil princess?"

"Whoa, look at that!" Dipper suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

Dipper pointed at the baby's back, and when Bill turned her around, he saw why the brunet had been so surprised: there on her back was a large birthmark in the shape of the Cipher wheel.

"Well, one thing's for sure: she's definitely your daughter." Dipper chuckled.

Bill laughed at that remark as he ran a hand through his daughter's birthmark, which he immediately found out was a huge mistake since it caused her to start crying in such a high-pitched tone that the only window in the room shattered completely.

"And I'm guessing it's extra sensitive." Dipper shouted over the baby's shrieks as Bill rocked the baby back and forth in his arms, her crying ceasing after a while.

"Well, I'll just to make a mental note of tha – WHOA!

Dipper and Bill's jaws dropped as they saw the baby had just opened her eyes, showing that her left eye was dark-red and slit-like, just as her father, whilst the right one didn't have a pupil, it was just completely white.

"That… was unexpected." Bill declared.

"Was it?" Dipper asked as he cocked a brow at the demon.

"Yeah, good point." He said before turning towards Mabel. "Here Shooting Star, hold her."

Mabel stared at her newborn daughter, unsure whether to comply or not. This was the being who had threatened her and tried to kill her many times during her pregnancy. Needless to say she was afraid of her. Could she really show love for someone like that?

She didn't really have time to respond before Bill placed the baby in her arms. Looking down at the pale infant, she felt something click inside of her. She suddenly felt like that baby was the most beautiful creature in the world, and felt a great need to shower her with love and affection. Her maternal instincts must've been kicking in, because she couldn't hold back tears of joy.

"She's perfect…" she whispered, holding her baby close. "I love her."

"Almost makes you forget she swore to rule the world, doesn't it?" Dipper grinned.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that." Bill declared confidently as he crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, even if she has a lot of power, I'll still have more. So even if she causes some sort of catastrophe and wreaks havoc of some sort, I'll always have the power to fix it. Plus, she's my daughter. I can easily control her."

"Well, good luck with that."

"Bill… we have a problem." Said Mabel, looking a bit alarmed. "We never thought of what to call her!"

"Not to worry. Before making my triumphant return, I made a list of possible names." He stated as he snapped his fingers, a rather large parchment appearing in his hands. "This is the one with female names."

"Deirdre, Lilith, Desdemona…" Dipper read the list over Bill shoulder, feeling rather unimpressed. "You seriously thought about naming your daughter Raven? That's a little on the nose, don't you think?

"Yeah, your probably right. I really don't want to get on Trigon's bad side." He said as he scratched that name off the list. "But then again, my personal favorite is number thirteen." He pointed at the name he meant.

"Eris? Really?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"You really want your daughter to be named after the Greek goddess of chaos and discord?"

"I think it sounds appropriate! Shooting Star, what do you think?"

"I don't really like it…" she cringed, an idea popping into her head. "But I think we can reach a compromise."

"How so?" Bill inquired.

"How about Erin? It's kind of like Eris, but a bit more normal-sounding."

"Hmm…" Bill pondered, tapping his chin. "I don't hate it… I guess it could work."

"Erin it is, then!" Mabel exclaimed, hugging her daughter.

"Hey, Bill…" Dipper whispered as he pulled the demon aside. "Thanks for coming back."

"No problem." He grinned at the brunet. "You were right. No one's future is written. The future is whatever we make of it."

He looked back at his girlfriend, smiling warmly as he watched her hum a lullaby as she cradled their daughter in her arms.

"And I want to make it a good one."


	12. Erin

Little Timmy Hastings was a happy child. An average student with a large group of friends and loving parents, he felt like he was truly content with his life. He lived every day joyfully and tried to spread his joy to others, so he never had a problem with anyone else.

That is, until he crossed paths with the wrong person.

School was over for the day, and Timmy was playing with his friends in the school playground while he waited for his parents to pick him up. The sun was almost setting and a chill was in the breeze, but that didn't keep him and his friends from enjoying a nice game of soccer.

He had just passed the ball to one of his friends, who in return kicked it a little too hard, sending it flying over his head towards the other end of the playground. Being the helpful little boy he was, Timmy quickly rushed in the ball's direction.

The ball came to halt just a few feet away from the swings, so Timmy didn't have to run too far to catch it. But when innocent twelve-year-old neared that location, his natural smile dropped into a frightened frown.

Sitting on one of the swings was a girl from his class. Timmy had seen her before, but was always too afraid to talk to her. She always kept her head hung low, so he had no idea what her face looked like. All he could see was her long glossy dark-purple hair blowing gently in the breeze. He noticed that she always wore the same clothes: a black sweater with extra-long sleeves that hid her hands, a black miniskirt that showed her pale legs, and a pair of black and white sneakers over a pair of white tube socks. To any other person this could've looked a normal girl, but there was something about her that sent shivers up and down Timmy's spine.

He quickly grabbed the ball and ran back to his friends, who noticed the frightened expression on his face upon his return.

"Dude, what happened?" asked one of his friends, cocking a brow at him.

"Uh…" he stuttered, looking back at the girl. "N-nothing…"

"Who's that?" another one of his friends inquired as he looked over Timmy's shoulder.

"I don't know." He replied as he set the ball down on the ground. "She's a girl from my class, but I've never talked to her, so I don't really know her name."

"She looks weird." The first friend commented. "I don't like her."

"Dude, you know what you should do?" the second friend inched closer to keep anyone else from hearing their conversation. "You should pick on her."

"What?!" Timmy gasped, involuntarily taking a step back. "W-why would I do that?"

"'Cause she's weird."

"And different." The first friend added. "My grandpa's always saying that people who are different are always out to get us and should be punished for that. He should know, he fought in Vietnam."

"I don't know…" Timmy muttered, looking down at his feet.

"Come on, man! Don't tell me you're afraid of a girl!"

"I-I'm not!" he stammered, giving him an angry glare.

"Then prove it."

They turned him around and pushed him forward in the girl's direction, stepping back a few feet afterwards. Timmy looked back at his friends, who told him to keep going, and took a deep breath. Clenching his fists and putting on the most determined expression he could muster, he walked towards the girl, trying to think about what he was going to say.

He stopped right in front of her and waited for her to look up at him, which she didn't. He took another deep breath.

"H-hey, you!" he began, feeling his heart beat heavily against his chest. "Why are you so weird? You don't look like you have any friends, and you never talk to anyone. So what's your deal, w-weirdo? Are you this sad and lonely because you want to, or just because everyone else thinks you're a freak?"

His heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw her hop off of the swing, still keeping her head down. Timmy took a step back, feeling his breathing become irregular.

"What did you call me?" she asked, her voice emotionless and slightly high-pitched.

"I-I… I c-called you a freak!" Timmy retorted, trying to sound as brave as he could. "And I'll do it again! You don't scare me, y-you freak!"

She lifted a hand towards him without touching him, the end of her sleeve swinging with the motion. Timmy wondered what she was doing, but he got his answer when he felt his throat start to clench, like there was a pair of invisible hands squeezing his neck with great force. He clawed at his neck in a vain attempt to free himself when she lifted her hand up higher, making him float upwards in the air.

Suddenly she looked up at him, and Timmy's now bulging eyes widened even more when he saw her blood-red eye glowing as she gave him a wicked grin. He only saw her left eye, her right one being covered by her hair, and he didn't even want to think about what was beneath it.

"Do I scare you _now_?" she hissed, her voice sounding like pure venom.

Timmy felt the invisible force tighten around his neck even more, his vision starting to fade as he felt himself blacking out.

"Erin Maleficent Cipher!"

His neck was released all of a sudden and he drop to the dusty ground on his back. Sitting up, he saw the girl had retracted her hand and turned around to look at a blond adult with fancy clothes and… an eyepatch?

"Oh hey, dad." She greeted him, her tone back to being emotionless.

"Don't 'hey dad' me, young lady!" he said as he crossed his arms, looking rather displeased. "What have I told you about using your powers on mortals?"

"To not use them on people whom I see on a daily basis." She sighed. "But in my defense, he was picking on me."

"Well, that is wrong. But I still don't want you using your powers. I don't want people knowing about what your capable of."

He walked past her and headed up to Timmy, who was still observing the scene from his spot on the floor.

"As for you, if you even breathe about this to other people, you better get yourself a pretty good health insurance." He threatened him, forming a blue flame on the palm of his hand. "Got it?"

Timmy felt like he had lost his voice in his state of shock, so he nodded vigorously at the man before him.

"Good." He said, the flame disappearing as he walked back towards his daughter. "Now then, let's head home. Your mother should be done with dinner by now."

He grabbed her by the hand as they both made their way towards the exit, but not before she turned her head and gave Timmy a menacing glare. He watched them leave, mostly to make sure they were actually gone before lifting himself up and walking away. His friends were gone, surely because they were so frightened by what they had seen that they didn't want to stick around and have that happen to them.

Timmy kept his promise, and from that day forward, he didn't speak another word to anyone else ever again.


End file.
